Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-swr86 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T20:24:03.237Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE EFFECTS OF FOOD SUPPLY ON ADULT SIZE IN THE BUMBLE BEE BOMBUS TERRICOLA KIRBY (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

G.H. Sutcliffe  and
R.C. Plowright
G.H. Sutcliffe
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
R.C. Plowright
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Captive colonies of Bombus terricola Kirby received pollen for 8, 14, or 24 h per day from the time of onset of second brood oviposition until colony decline. The pattern of change of worker body size over time, especially between the first and second broods, varied according to these experimental food regimes. The results indicate that conflicting results reported in the literature, with respect to changes in worker size over the course of colony development, probably can be regarded, at least in part, as the outcome of differences in food supply.

Résumé

Des colonies captives de Bombus terricola Kirby ont reçu du pollen pendant 8, 14 ou 24 h par jour, depuis le début de la ponte de la seconde couvée jusqu’au déclin de la colonie. Les variations de la taille des travailleuses au cours du temps, surtout entre la première et la seconde couvées, étaient en rapport avec ces rations alimentaires. Les résultats indiquent que les résultats contradictoires rapportés dans la littérature au sujet des changements de taille au cours du développement d’une colonie résultent probablement et du moins en partie, d’une différence dans la quantité de ressources alimentaires disponibles.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 120 , Issue 12 , December 1988 , pp. 1051 - 1058
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alford, D.V. 1970. The production of adults in incipient colonies of Bombus agrorum (F.) (Hymenoptera: Bombidae). Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lond. (A) 45: 6–13.Google Scholar
Alford, D.V. 1975. Bumblebees. Davis-Poynter Limited, London. 352 pp.Google Scholar
Brian, A.D. 1951. Brood development in Bombus agrorum. Ent. Monthly Mag. 87: 207–212.Google Scholar
Brian, A.D. 1952. Division of labour and foraging in Bombus agrorum Fabricius. J. Anim. Ecol. 21: 223–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumber, R.A. 1949. The biology of humble bees with special reference to the production of the worker caste. Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 100(1): 1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frison, T.H. 1927. The development of the castes of bumblebees (Bremidae: Hymenoptera). Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 20: 156–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frison, T.H. 1928. A contribution to the knowledge of the life history of Bremus bimaculatus (Cresson) (Hym.). Ent. Am. (N.S.) 8: 159–223.Google Scholar
Garófalo, C.A. 1978. Bionomics of Bombus (Fervidobombus) morio. 2. Body size and length of life of workers. J. Apic. Res. 17(3): 130–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garófalo, C.A., Zucchi, R., and Muccillo, G.. 1986. Reproductive studies of a neotropical bumblebee, Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Rev. Brasil. Genet. 9(2): 231–243.Google Scholar
Heinrich, B. 1979. Bumblebee Economics. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 245 pp.Google Scholar
Knee, W.J., and Medler, J.T.. 1965. The seasonal size increase of bumblebee workers (Hymenoptera: Bombus). Can. Ent. 97: 1149–1155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medler, J.T. 1962. Morphometric studies on bumblebees. Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 55: 212–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medler, J.T. 1965. Variation in size in the worker caste of Bombus fervidus (Fab). Proc. 12th Int. Congr. Ent. London. pp. 388–389.Google Scholar
Owen, R.E. 1988. Body size variation and optimal body size of bumble bee queens (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Can. Ent. 120: 19–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pendrel, B.A., and Plowright, R.C.. 1981. Larval feeding by adult bumble bee workers (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 8: 71–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plath, O.E. 1934. Bumblebees and Their Ways. MacMillan, New York.Google Scholar
Plowright, R.C. 1966. Domestication and caste differentiation in bumblebees. Ph.D. thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.Google Scholar
Plowright, R.C. 1967. The distribution and ecology of bumblebees in Norfolk. Trans. Norfolk & Norwich Nat. Soc. 21: 48–88.Google Scholar
Plowright, R.C., and Jay, S.C.. 1966. Rearing bumblebee colonies in captivity. J. Apic. Res. 5: 155–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plowright, R.C., and Jay, S.C.. 1968. Caste differentiation in bumblebees (Bombus Latr.: Hym.). 1. The determination of female size. Insectes Sociaux 15: 171–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pomeroy, N., and Plowright, R.C.. 1980. Maintenance of bumble bee colonies in observation hives (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Can. Ent. 112: 321–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, K.W. 1975. Population ecology of bumblebees in southern Alberta. Ph.D. thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.Google Scholar
Richards, O.W. 1946. Observations on Bombus agrorum (Fabricius) (Hymen., Bombidae). Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lond. (A) 21: 66–71.Google Scholar
Röseler, P.F. 1967. Untersuchungen Uber das auftreten der 3 formen im hummelstaat. Zool. Jahrb. Physiol. 74: 178–197.Google Scholar
Röseler, P.F. 1970. Unterschiede in der Kastendetermination zwischen den Hummelarten Bombus hypnorum und Bombus terrestris. Zeitschr. Naturforsch. 25: 543–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sladen, F.W.L. 1912. The Bumble-bee, Its Life History and How to Domesticate It. MacMillan, London.Google Scholar